The purpose of the study was to analyze the origin of excessive water intake during schedule-induced drinking (SID) sessions. Three rats lived within the experimental chambers and water intake was continuously recorded. In Experiment 1, three one-hour SID sessions were intruded within each 24-hour period, in which one, three, or eight grams of food were delivered on a 180-s fixed time schedule. Daily water intake remained confined within the sessions, and the volume of water that each rat drank was proportional to meal size. Holding constant the meal size, in Experiment 2 the food pellets were delivered at the beginning of each SID session and in a second condition, at the beginning of each 24-hour period. Volume intake remained constant throughout the two experiments, regardless of food distribution. Results suggest that the SID procedure does not generate excessive water intake. Food deprivation and spaced-food delivery enhance the concentration of the rats' daily water intake within the sessions.